Centennial’s stock falls on mixed results

Regional wireless operator Centennial Communications Corp. said it added 15,500 wireless customers across its domestic and Puerto Rico operations during its fourth fiscal quarter that ended May 31, and added 69,500 customers for the full fiscal year. The quarterly growth was an improvement compared with the 13,500 customers the carrier added last year, while yearly growth dropped slightly from the 73,400 customers added during the previous fiscal year.
The carrier ended the fiscal year with 694,500 customers on its domestic operations and 406,500 wireless customers in Puerto Rico.
Average revenue per user including roaming dropped from $66 during the fourth fiscal quarter of 2006 to $64 this year, while yearly ARPU fell from $67 in 2006 to $66 this year. Customer churn improved for the quarter from 2.2% last year to 2% this year, while full year churn dropped from 2.5% in 2006 to 2.3% in 2007.
Centennial’s consolidated revenues increased modestly during the fourth quarter from $221.2 million in 2006 to $228.2 million this year, while yearly revenues surged from $865.1 million in 2006 to $911.9 million this year. Quarterly net income improved from $3.4 million in 2006, a return of 3 cents per share, to $5.2 million this year, a return of 4 cents per share. However, full-year income plunged from a return of $20.2 million in 2006, a return of 19 cents per share, to a loss of $31.6 million in 2007, a loss of 30 cents per share. The drop was attributed to an increase in net interest expenses for the year.
Centennial’s stock was trading down more than 7% early Thursday at $8.35 per share.